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Some Call It A Bonfire/Carnival Of Classiness...

We call it "Classiness, All Around Us."


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In no particular order, WILLisms.com presents classiness from the blogosphere (now with 50% more classy!):

1.

Japanese Quirks-

Marginal Revolution blog takes a gander at some uniquely Japanese cultural characteristics:

Many Japanese think green is a shade of blue, and they often take off their shoes before committing suicide.

Some fascinating stuff.

2.

U.S.-India Relations-

Winds of Change blog takes note of an immensely important geopolitical event, one that was barely reported in the media:

...this week, The United States and India signed a 10-year agreement paving the way for stepped up military ties, including joint weapons production and cooperation on missile defense. Titled the "New Framework for the US-India Defense Relationship" (NFDR), it was signed on June 27/05 by U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and India's Defense Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

This is a big deal. A very big deal....

Pretty soon some sad-eyed Chinese politician will have to campaign for election on a platform of being "stronger at home, and more respected abroad." Oh... right. Nevermind.

India is an important strategic ally for the United States in a rapidly changing world; it's also probably a good thing that the Indian people like us (.pdf) more than the Europeans.

3.

NBC's Brian Williams-

IMAO offers this hilarious take on the strange moral equivocation of news anchor Brian Williams.

Fun times. And very classy.

4.

Marrying For Money-

Brian Caplan of EconLog takes a unique look at marrying for money:

By going to the world market, the typical American man could probably use the lure of citizenship and a First World standard of living to find a wife who is better-looking, younger, and less demanding than he could find in the States. Roll your eyes if you must!

One can only wonder how much widespread this actually is.

5.

Live 8-



The BrothersJudd Blog expresses what we've all been thinking on Live 8:

Those with even a modicum of historical perspective and good sense knew full well there is something very wrong and embarrassing here. But all of them felt obliged to bury concerns about rampant corruption, totalitarianism, waste, apathy and inefficiency in gooey bromides about how great it is that so many young people are showing that they “care”.

It’s not great at all. It is a self-indulgent, quasi-racist conceit which betrays the small, but growing, African middle-class and intellectual forces that are the sole hope of that wretched continent. It is an appalling surrender to a post-modern, post-colonial guilt that wasn’t even that persuasive in 1950's Paris, where it was born. It is a selfish, damaging triumph of silly Oprah-speak over genuine charity.

I have no doubt that Bono is sincere in his concern for Africa, but, watching Live 8, the effort really just missed the point. Millenium Challenge Accounts are what the world needs to get on board with, not awareness for the sake of awareness. Mark Steyn has some great thoughts on the matter.

Oh, and incidentally, Pink Floyd put on a freaking awesome show.

6.

The Coalition of the Deaf and Blind-

Patrick Ruffini chronicles the coalition on the left devoted to re-writing the history of the political atmosphere leading up to the Iraq war:

Call us crazy, but is it that unreasonable to assume that: A terrorist after the war = a terrorist before the war? The debate over whether Ba'athist Iraq was a terror state as defined multiple times by the President in September 2001 is pretty much over. And yet liberals remain under the impression that Saddam was the Iraqi Robert E. Lee, an honorable and worthy opponent who obeyed the rules of warfare, and had nothing to do with terrorism.

Only a member of a coalition of the deaf and blind could actually believe that.

Yet, the elite media has actively assisted this bizarre leftist revisionism.

7.

Karl Rove, Valerie Plame, Joe Wilson, and Lawrence O'Donnell-

Just One Minute blog has the best coverage of the "Karl Rove is the leaker" quasi-hysteria that erupted over the weekend. Just One Minute also adds, today:

The NY Times lacks a comics section, but makes up for it with stories like this....

At this point, the Times has become so separated from reality on this story, I don't know if they can ever find their way home.

Credibility is painstakingly earned and rapidly lost. It seems like some media types (ahem, cough, Lawrence O'Donnell, cough, ahem) may not be aware of that equation.

8.

2006 Senate Balance-

Asymmetrical Information blog notes that the Democrats have almost zero chance of taking back the Senate in 2006.

9.

O'Connor, Dissenter-

Patterico's Pontifications blog takes note of just how often Justice Sandra Day O'Connor has been in the minority in 5-4 decisions:

Today’s L.A. Times editorial on Justice O’Connor opens with this statement:

One fact sums up Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s pivotal role on the Supreme Court and the enormity of her resignation — she alone was in the majority of every one of the court’s 13 5-4 decisions this last term.

Wow. That’s really impressive. Except for one small problem . . . there were 24 5-4 decisions this Term, not 13 — and Justice O’Connor was in the minority in quite a few of those cases.

Sigh. Editorials and facts don't really go together anymore. More thoughts on O'Connor at The American Thinker (via PoliPundit).

10.

Low-key social life, eh-

Michelle Malkin notes that Valerie Plame's private life is far from private.

It seems possible that nobody in particular outed Valerie Plame. After all, it's hard to reveal a secret that is already public knowledge.

11.

Gary Trudeau and Doonesbury-

Powerline blog examines the point of a Doonesbury comic strip:

I'm not familiar with the characters Trudeau employs in this strip, but his point seems to be that bloggers are obsessive, clueless, vainly in love with the sound of their voice even if no one is listening, and perhaps delusional. I'm sure the portrait applies to some cartoonists as well as bloggers.

The common thread in all the hate mail I have ever gotten is that I am full of myself, narcissistic, and otherwise vain. An interesting take on a comic strip I never read.

12.

The Pelosi backfire effect-

Captain's Quarters takes note of Nancy Pelosi's trip disclosure problems:

Pelosi has created a catastrophe for the Democrats, now including herself, by kicking over the travel-expenses rock. She may have aimed at DeLay, but her choice of weapons could not have been worse. It amounts to poetic justice that the misfire has specifically hit her as well as her fellow caucus members, who may soon decide that her leadership costs them more than it's worth.

The thing is, conservatives warned Pelosi not to go after DeLay unless she was sure she was spotless herself. But she pressed on anyway.

13.

Mexican racism-

La Shawn Barber wonders what Mexicans really think of blacks:

I wasn’t going to blog about this because it nauseates me, then I changed my mind. Michelle Malkin beat me to the punch anyway. Whenever I see racist caricatures of blacks from back in the day, I cringe. To think there was a time in the U.S. when whites openly mocked and ridiculed blacks with these exaggerated stereotypes, and blackface comedy was all the rage.

It is amazing, but it is indicative of a greater, lingering, widespread backwardness in Mexico.

14.

America's Exceptionalism-

Ken McCracken offers a nice look at America's unique identity:

If America is a transcendent ideal, one need not even set foot here to become an American. This is why America is not a nation: it is a universal principle, and not reserved merely for those fortunate enough to be American by an accident of birth.

America is still the shining city on the hill. No other country can make that claim.

15.

Gonzales, Bush's nominee?-

The Decision '08 blog wonders if the futures markets know something the rest of us don't:

In any event, the price of the Gonzales contract has essentially doubled on heavy volume...when the choice is between random talking heads and people who are putting money where their mouth is, always follow the money...

The markets have been amazingly successful at making these kinds of predictions, but I would just bet that George W. Bush's famously close-knit circle of advisors is keeping their mouths shut until President Bush returns from Gleneagles, Scotland.

Also, don't forget to check out all the old Trivia Tidbits Of the Day, the Reform Thursday series, the Quotational Therapy sessions, and the Wednesday Caption Contest (entries are due each Tuesday at 11:59 PM Central Standard Time).

Last Week's Classiness Certification from WILLisms.com:

*June 28, 2005.

WILLisms.com offers a weekly classiness roundup as a weekly feature, every Tuesday, with 15 blog posts deemed classy. The criteria for submissions: incisive original analysis, quirky topics nobody else is covering, fantastic graphics, or other posts that took a lot of work. We love to spread the word on upcoming blogs, being that WILLisms.com also fits that description. If you would like to nominate a post on your blog or another blog for inclusion, email us at WILLisms@gmail.com. Write "Classy Nomination" in the subject. You can also utilize this page to make your submissions. The deadline is each Monday at 11:59 PM Central Time.

Classy.

UPDATE:

Jamming.

Posted by Will Franklin · 5 July 2005 01:13 PM

Comments

Posted by: Hoodlumman at July 5, 2005 02:02 PM

Posted by: Will Franklin at July 5, 2005 03:13 PM

Posted by: Zsa Zsa at July 5, 2005 04:19 PM

Posted by: Hoodlumman at July 5, 2005 05:02 PM

Posted by: Hoodlumman at July 5, 2005 05:04 PM

Posted by: Zsa Zsa at July 5, 2005 07:42 PM

Posted by: Giacomo at July 5, 2005 09:27 PM

Posted by: Will Franklin at July 5, 2005 10:15 PM

Posted by: Zsa Zsa at July 6, 2005 07:29 PM

Posted by: Am I A Pundit Now? at July 7, 2005 01:55 AM

Posted by: Zsa Zsa at July 7, 2005 07:48 AM

Posted by: Zsa Zsa at July 7, 2005 08:10 AM